Intermission
by Sailor's Wife
Summary: Hermione has several unique talents that only a few people know of. At their graduation ball harry convinces Hermione to play, the problem is Hermione's 'other' talents come to light while she plays, giving closure from beyond the veil for some people, namely Severus Snape. SS/LP closure, SS/HG preship. For teddyradiator.


Intermission

**A/N: This fic is in thanks to TeddyRadiator, as she made my day with her kind words of support.**

**Obligatory disclaimer: I obviously do not own, nor am I making any money from this, in fact by shirking my responsibilities to write fanfiction, I'm likely costing myself more money in the long run (think, need a quick dinner instead of the lengthy homemade one that's been planned). Nor do I own any rights to the songs or lyrics Hermione sings.**

**P.S. This **_**may**_** at sometime is the distant future, become part of a much longer fic with a HG/SS pairing. But for now it's just a sweet little one-shot. It's only a little HG/SS preship, with a little SS/LP closure thrown in, but it's the only idea that I have that won't turn out to be several hundred thousand words long. One of the kids was listening to music while putting away dishes and this was inspired by a few of the songs that came on.**

….

'The Class of the Great Wizarding War' they were called.

After the restoration of Hogwarts, many of those cheated out of their final year of education, either by being on the run or from substandard/militant education by Death Eaters, chose to return and earn their diploma. Today they had graduated, the class having record breaking amounts of students with the highest scores seen on NEWTs in the areas of DADA, Charms, Transfiguration and even Potions. There's something to be said about the abilities of children and young adults to absorb knowledge, especially when one's life, or the life of loved ones' are on the line. The-Boy-Who-Lived-Twice was undoubtedly one of the most powerful Wizards the world had seen, on par with Dumbledore, Voldemort and Grindewald. While not equal in raw power, his two best friends rivaled him in greatness, if not popularity. _They_ didn't defeat the Dark Lord, but if not for their help, friendship and knowledge over the years, Harry may not have stood a chance, a fact he knew rather well and was quick to point out, not that many listened.

Ron was a great strategist and the one to make both Harry and Hermione loosen up when they got too serious, moody or just wouldn't take a break.

Hermione was the quintessential 'Mother Hen' always making sure they studied, ate, slept and that their 'adventures' were kept under some semblance of control. She had more knowledge than most Wizards and Witches gained in a century, she also had an immense level of raw power, perhaps only eclipsed by Harry and a few of the greater wizards and witches such as McGonagall and Snape. She kept a tight control over her magic though. While she was ever confident in her abilities and her spells powerful, Harry could tell she never put her all into to them. He had seen her lose that tight control a few times. Though, he was certain that the result of total loss of control of her magic would be catastrophic, what he had seen left him at time in either awe or fear or sometimes both. When mad, Hermione's hair would spark and she would just _radiate_ barely controlled power, it was no wonder she was so adept with fire spells, fire took a lot of power and could easily take a life of its own which required an immense amount of control. Other times though, her magic was frightening, yet beautiful.

…..

Once, when they were at the Burrow, a row with Ron had caused the sparks from her hair to set fire to the wheat fields next to the house. Mortified, she quickly extinguished the flames and ran off. It took Harry hours to find her next to a pond with waves of blue, semi-transparent flames dancing all around her. Unsure but determined, he reached out to touch her anyway and found the flames cool to the touch. She explained to him, after some gentle coaxing, that she feared her own magic. Being Muggleborn she didn't know what was happening, nor how to control her magic when it manifested. At first she didn't realize that her natural talents were some of the most destructive elements known even to the magical realm.

She had been practicing the piano when she was 8. Lost in the music, she didn't take notice of her surroundings until she heard her mother scream. Next to her, the ghostly figures of her recently departed grandparents danced to the waltz she was playing, her own body had been bathed in blue flames. However, in reaction to her mother's scream, Hermione panicked and lost complete control. She said she'd never forget the horror in her mother's eyes when flames engulfed the house and her mother began to choke on the acrid smoke while Hermione herself seemed untouched.

Dumbledore had shown up at the hospital a few hours later, healed and obliviated her mother and explained that she had done nothing wrong; she was a witch and was special. Having not remembered the real reason their home had burned down, the Grangers were thrilled to learn that their daughter was gifted. Hermione however, would never forget the horror on her mother's face and vowed never to lose complete control again. She had researched methods of meditation, calming, and anger management. Later, she had researched Occulmency a great deal and used those techniques to further solidify her control.

However, when she played, her magic escaped her. It was never destructive when she played; her parents had found it wondrous and beautiful. Different songs seemed to have different effects and she eventually learned to control all aspects of her magic, when she wasn't playing music that is.

She had confessed that she was a natural necromancer. Professor McGonagall had explained to her years later that no one ever hears about natural necromancers because they are automatically lumped in with those who used dark magic to twist the natural world and that of the veil. Natural necromancers were inherently light, and understood the ramifications of manipulating the power held by Death himself. He never told a soul, not even Ron or Ginny or even mentioned it to Dumbledore, even though he suspected the wizened old Wizard already knew.

Later that evening, Harry had ventured downstairs for a drink and saw Hermione at a transfigured piano in the family room. There seemed not to be any sound coming from the piano, but considering the Weasely household was asleep, he suspected a silencing charm. When he tried to enter the room she looked up and met his eyes for a moment before nodding and allowing him passage through her wards. The music that issued forth from the piano was almost ethereal and as sweet as a phoenix song; her quiet singing drew him in like a siren's voice. It was moments before he noticed the falling blossoms and the unknown redheads sitting around listening, laughing or dancing around the room.

When the song was done, the blossoms and their sweet smell disappeared, a few of the Weasely ancestors bowed or acknowledged Hermione before they all disappeared in whiffs of odorless smoke.

….

'_The Class of the Great Wizarding War'_ had graduated earlier that day. Now they were at a ball held for the graduates and their dates. Hermione had attended alone, preferring it that way. Her choice in dates seemed to always invite nothing but trouble, so this time she attended solo. She was content to watch her classmates and guests as a proverbial wallflower. It seemed to work for Snape, why couldn't it work for her? The war had tempered her and she had transformed from a hand-waving-know-it-all into a mature witch confident in her knowledge and abilities. She had seen too much, done too much and been tortured too much to take it all for granted now. She was content and happy in her life. Beginning tomorrow she would resume work on her transfiguration mastery. She was to be tested by the other masters in a month's time and then take over for the Headmistress as the Professor of Transfiguration. She would have preferred charms, or arithmancy or even potions, but transfiguration was where she was needed and she was content with that for the time being.

Near midnight, the band had taken a break. For the intermission they were playing songs from an old fashioned turntable. Halfway through the first waltz and the system broke eliciting grumbles from the crowd. While Flitwick and McGonagall set to work fixing up a new system, Harry stepped up to the microphone. It was about time, in his mind, that one of his friends was center stage (literally and figuratively) for a while.

"May I have your attention everyone?" His voice rang out in a tinny tone, instantly hushing the crowd. Even Flitwick and McGonagall stopped what they were doing and turned toward him.

"While I know you are all just waiting for the Weird Sister's to return, I'd like to propose this little intermission be filled not with the scratchy sounds of ancient waltzes," Harry had the grace to look slightly sheepish at McGonagall's glare and mumbled a 'sorry' in her direction, earning a small chuckle from the crowd. "But with the music from the most brilliant musician I know. Hermione Granger. Come on up here Hermione and give them something to dance to!" Harry grinned wide at the glare and resulting hair sparkage from the friend in question. "C'mon 'Mione!" he encouraged. "C'mon guys, give her some encouragement!"

The crowd started clapping and yelling as Ginny unceremoniously shoved her towards the stage. Hermione continued to protest until she was pulled up on stage by Harry.

"You'll pay for this." She warned Harry with a glare. He just smiled brighter and gave a 'get on with it' gesture. "Fine." She mumbled as the crowd became silent.

Hermione transfigured a grand piano and bench and adjusted the hem of her red dress robes as she sat. She turned to the crowd and apologized. "I'm sorry; most of the music I know is of Muggle nature, so most of you won't recognize it. I hope you enjoy it anyway. If not," she said with a wry smile in Harry's direction, "Feel free to blame Harry." "I know I do," she muttered as an afterthought to which she was rewarded with light laughter from the crowd.

Figuring she'd start with something less ancient than Chopin, or Beethoven that they could possibly waltz to she started to play. Almost as soon as her fingers graced the ivory keys, blue flames erupted around her causing a few startled gasps in the crowd. This caught the attention of the resident Dungeon Bat lurking in the shadows. Severus Snape leaned against a pillar and watched her intently, he told himself it was just to make sure she didn't burn down the school, since it was newly repaired and all.

As the beginning refrain of the song wafted out of the piano, the crowd was captivated, not many noticed the mist like shapes forming next to her until they began to sing. Light snow began to fall interspersed with rose petals as the misty figures sang clearly, a Muggle song "Kiss from a Rose." A few of the guests finally pulled their eyes from the stage and to their partners, young men started to swirl their ladies across the floor, the other's just stared at the sight in disbelief.

It was such beautiful, sweet magic. Snape couldn't stop watching her play, the flames and the way her body had seemed to enter another realm, a graceful realm as she played captivated him. Why was she wasting her talents, her vast intellect teaching idiotic students to turn mice into teacups? He had to wonder.

The song ended and the scene vanished. All eyes turned back to the stage. After seeing looks of astonishment and disbelief on many faces Hermione blushed scarlet and again apologized to the crowd. "I'm sorry, my magic tends to do whatever it wants when I play." She made to leave the stage, but overwhelming sounds of protests made her sit back down reluctantly. With a look of unease on her face she addressed the crowd. "If you want me to keep playing I will. But, keep in mind that my magic runs away from me when I play. It won't hurt you and it's all an illusion, so don't be afraid."

After a few moments of playing a random melody one handed while trying to decide what to play, her eyes seemed to glaze over. She thought of those she wished were here tonight, celebrating with them, Lupin, Fred, and Dumbledore among others. A tear wound its way down her face and she began to play and sing. Her voice carried out to every person in the room, sounding as if she were standing next to them, rather than meters away on a stage. Her voice was soft, ethereal and mournful.

"_Hey Lucy I remember your name. I left a dozen roses on your grave today. I'm in the grass on my knees, wipe the leaves away… I just came to talk for a while, I got some things, I need to say…_

_Now that it's over, I just want to hold her. I'd give up all the world to see, that little piece of heaven looking back at me. Now that it's over, I just want to hold her. Gotta live with the choices I made, but I can't live with myself today._

_Hey Lucy, I remembered your birthday. They said it'd bring some closure, to say your name.  
I know I'd do it all different if I had the chance, but all I got are these roses to give, and they can't help me make amends."_

Snape watched Hermione sing in shock. Was she singing about him? Was she singing for him? Was she tormenting him with his guilt of killing his childhood friend? As he studied her with a glower on his face and a tightness in his chest he didn't notice the beings taking shape around him.

…

The song affected everyone. There wasn't one person in the room that wasn't touched by the war in some horrible way, most had lost loved ones. As she sang of regret, of not being able to say a proper goodbye and longing for a loved one lost, tears streamed down nearly every face. Her soft mournful voice made them feel like she was wrapping the agony of loss tight around their hearts.

A few stanzas into the song shapes began to appear amongst the crowd, ghostly at first then nearly solidifying.

Harry's eyes focused on the shape next to him. For a brief minute he thought it was Ginny, but she was leaning against him on his other side. He blinked a couple times before realizing he was staring into eyes just like his. Detangling himself from Ginny he reached out with a tentative hand, eyes a wide as saucers when said hand made contact with a solid shoulder. His mother smiled. "It's nice to see you again Harry." She said.

"M-Mum!" Came his startled reply. "But… but, how?"

She smiled and turned to look at the young woman singing at the piano. "She often tears a hole in the veil when she plays, though this is the first time she's lost enough control that she's using her magic to make us corporeal."

From the startled cries around him, Harry realized he wasn't the only one seeing loved ones no longer among the living. A quick look around and he noted Professor McGonagall looking faint standing next to a twinkling Dumbledore, practically the entire Weasley clan crowding a mischievous looking Fred, Draco was actually talking to Tonks, Cedric was cradling a sobbing Cho, even a dumfounded looking Pansy staring at a man that must have been her father beaming with pride as he reached out to touch her cheek. There were many more similar scenes all around the large ballroom.

Harry's father and godfather materialized next to his mother. Harry finally broke from his stupor to grab all three in a hug, ignoring the fact that they were cool rather than warm to the touch. His voice refused to work, but the tears in his eyes and the expression on his face said volumes.

As they pulled back Lilly cupped her son's face. "I could never express how proud of you I am. I'll see you again, but right now there's something I need to do."

Harry followed his mother's gaze to a dark corner of the room to where a stunned Snape stood leaning against a pillar and staring at the crowd of the resurrected before him.

Harry smiled back at his mother. "As much as I'd love to keep you for myself, you're right. He deserves a little closure. Besides," he said with a shrug, "I've got Dad and Sirius to keep me company for a while."

Lilly planted a cool kiss to her son's forehead, and turned, making her way through the crowd, nearly all those among the living were crying. Several of those from beyond the veil were already saying their goodbyes and returning through the tear. She saw Fred pull away from the Weasley clan whom seemed to be protesting as he made his way through the crowd to the stage.

….

"_Me and Lucy walking hand in hand. Me and Lucy never want to end. Gotta live with the choices I've made, but I just can't live with myself… today."_

As the last cords of the song were played, Snape felt a weight settle on his left shoulder, coolness seeped through the heavy cloth of his robes and frock coat. He turned and stared into those eyes that have haunted his classroom from his nemesis' face, haunted his dreams in the familiar alabaster complexion and fiery red hair that belonged to his childhood friend and the love of his life. "Lily." Her name was a rushing whisper as the breath rushed from his lungs. Frozen, all he could do was stare at her smiling face. "But you're…." He stammered looking between Lily and the stage where the young witch in red sat with fingers gracing ivory keys and tears streaming down her face. "Then she's…"

"A necromancer? Yes. Don't worry," Lily assured, "Natural Necromancers are inherently light. She doesn't abuse her power and has only created this tear because she is sad and loses control sometimes when she plays."

He just stared at her in disbelief, hand reaching out a little, then hesitating as if he wasn't sure if he wanted to believe she was real or not.

"Hello, Sev." Lily said as she reached out to cup the side of his face with a cool hand and draw him to her. She wrapped her arms around him in an embrace and held it until he finally wrapped his arms around her as well with a sound that was a cross between a choke and a sob squeezed her tighter. Luckily, breathing was not necessary when one was dead. "Shhhhh," She soothed. "It's alright, Sev, it's alright."

…

Hermione ended her song and softly wept. So much loss, so much pain and torment and longing. For all her talents, she was only able to save one, and quite by accident as she hadn't known what she was doing at the time, only that she had a strong desire, a desperate need for him to live. It was as if she had used her powers unwillingly to force him back to the land of the living. She wasn't even sure if he'd forgive her the fact if he ever found out. He looked resigned to death, accepting and almost blissfully embracing death even.

An overly cheerful voice broke her out of her reverie.

"Hey, what are you doing? This is supposed to be a party isn't it?"

Hermione lifted her tearful gaze only to break out in a small smile at the sight of Fred Weasley. Whenever she played and was in a mournful mood he'd always show to make her feel better. She had tried many times to apologize for not using her Necromancy to revive him, but he always waved her off saying that it may be a tougher crowd to play tricks on, on the other side of the veil, but he always did love a challenge. "Besides," he would say, "You have no idea what you're doing with those powers, you'd probably bring me back looking like a 5,000 year old mummy! Probably smelling like one too!"

Now, Fred propped himself on top of her piano earning him a glare form Hermione.

"Gods! I've seen livelier crowds on the other side of the veil, and that's saying something!" Fred said with a wink.

Hermione looked out over the crowd and saw that many had come through, likely to say proper goodbyes, from beyond the veil. She looked back at Fred with a questioning eyebrow. "With any luck they'll just think it's a really good illusion. What do you suggest I play to make them forget about this, oh wise one?" Just Fred's presence could lift her spirits (pun intended) these days.

He gave her a roguish grin. "Well, since I think Mum would come find me on the other side of the veil and box my ears for suggesting a little stripper music….. How about something upbeat, something that will make them feel good about themselves.

An idea instantly sprang to her mind and she began to play the opening notes. Her otter appeared and swam around the piano a moment before turning into a shapeless streak of silvery blue light and sped out to greet random students, staff, and family members, showing them at their worst, or most embarrassing or just having a rotten day yet showing it in a pleasing way, a beautiful way, as she started to sing.

"_Oh her eyes, her eyes, make the stars look like they're not shining. Her hair, her hair falls perfectly without her trying." _ The light showed Ginny first thing in the morning with her hair all over the place. Ginny clasped a hand over her mouth in apparent mortification until her silvery blue sketch-like self smiled a bright beautiful smile.

"Do I really look like that?" Ginny asked quietly.

"You do to me." Harry said with love in his eyes.

The light shot off to sketch Neville all covered in dirt and sweat, up to his elbows in compost and potting soil, streaks of it smudged all over his face. Yet, he looked serene, happy, calm and confident.

_It's so, it's so sad that she doesn't see what I see…."_

…..

Severus shook the head that was now buried in the crook of Lily's neck. "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry," he whispered, still clutching her impossible close against him.

"Sev," Lily admonished. "You have nothing to apologize for. Well… except maybe harassing my son a little more than necessary."

Snape managed to pull himself far enough away to see her face. He wasn't crying, but the look of pure anguish on his face was much more disturbing. "But I-"

Lily cut him off with a sharp shake of her head and a finger to his lips. "Nothing is your fault Sev. If anything I owe _you_ the apology." She glared him into submission as he tried to open his mouth and refute her statement. "Listen to me Sev. I don't have much time I can spend here, it's not comfortable for us, which is why most have already left; so, let me say what I need to say." Confident he would let her talk she continued, "For all I was a Gryffindor Sev, I took the coward's way out. Being a friend to a Slytherin was not easy, it was unthinkable, a sin if you will to those in my house. I'm sure being friends with a Muggleborn Gryffindor didn't exactly earn you any points with the Slytherin's either, but you always were the strong one Sev. I cowed to the demands of my house and my friends. You only provided an excuse, a flimsy one at that." Her expression changed to one of sorrow and regret. It was an emotion he was all too familiar with. "The first time I saw you behind the enemy lines, as one of them, I wished I could go back and undo it all. I couldn't help but think that if I had been stronger, braver, more… _Gryffindor_ that maybe I could have kept you from joining." Lily sighed and looked at the floor a moment before continuing. "But, I believe everything happened for a reason. As much as my non-existent heart felt like it would break over the years, watching Harry's neglect, your precarious position as a spy in both wars, the torture you've endured for the sake of _our_ side, the sacrifices you made for a my son… it had to happen this way. If it hadn't, we may all have fallen to Voldemort. I believe that all our sacrifices were necessary. The only sacrifice I regret Sev, is our friendship."

"Lily I don't-"Snape began but Lily again shook her head.

"Don't Sev. Just accept what I've said, it _is_ the truth."

A flash of silvery blue light caught his eye and Severus reluctantly pulled his attention away from Lily for a moment to see what was going on now. The crowd looked happy, vibrant almost… confident even. A swirl of silvery light swooped and dipped among the guests leaving behind almost sketch like images of people, outlined in the same silvery light. Draco relaxing on a limb, jumping down and smiling, not his usual cocky smile, but a beautiful smile that showed warmth and mirth and reached his eyes. Sketch Luna twirled among mythical creatures, Sketch Potter tried in vain to tame his hair before leaping on a broom a zooming off. Various other scenes were conjured, taking what may have been an awkward moment and painting it in a new light, or showing a person in a moment of their personal best.

"What's going on?" he asked bewildered.

Lily smiled in Hermione's direction as she belted out the lyrics.

"_When I see your face, there's not a thing that I would change, 'cause you're amazing… Just the way you are. And when you smile, the world just stops and stares for a while, 'cause you're amazing. Just the way you are"_

"It's how she sees everybody. The good in them, showing them that they are more than what they believe, that they are all unique and amazing, 'just the way they are'." Lilly replied.

Moments later the swirling blue light found their little corner and Sketch Snape was brewing, looking graceful and not unlike a conductor of an orchestra as he chopped, and stirred and ground and added ingredients in smooth, fluid, adept motions. The scene changed and Snape was walking down the hall with a few Weasley fireworks going off. He looked around the hall as if to make sure no one else was around before strolling a bit more casually and lazily flicking his wand here and there at the fireworks causing them to duplicate themselves.

Lily's laugh rang like music in his ears as the scene faded and the light tore off to surprise someone else. "Really Sev. I didn't know you were still so playful."

"I'm not." He retorted darkly, sending the singing witch a glare. Hermione only responded with a smile before looking back at the keys under her fingers as she sang.

…

The light now sketched Millicent Bulstrode, who thought she very much resembled the offspring of a troll and a hag. Yet the vision in front of her, while not pretty by any conventional means, was pleasing in its own way. It showed Millicent standing behind two Slytherin first years brawling on the green in front of an out of the way garden path. It showed her mouth moving and the two first years scattering. Then she turned around and laughed, and oh! what a sound issued forth from Sketch Millicent just as Hermione sang, _"Her laugh, her laugh, she hates but I think it's so sexy. She's so beautiful and I tell her every day."_

….

Lilly laughed again, clearly not buying his denial. "She has such beautiful magic. It's really too bad I'll never have her for a daughter-in-law."

Glad to change the subject Snape supplied, "Well, maybe if he can get over his apparent Oedipus complex…"

Lilly gave him a half hearted glare, which was completely ruined when it turned into a devilish grin as if she knew something that he didn't. It was a look he was well familiar with as a child. Gods he missed her. He had one arm still wrapped around her waist, as if by holding her he could keep her there. He shook off his momentary wistfulness. Clinging to what could never be was never healthy. He wished she'd let him apologize, to say his own peace, but she was a stubborn and bull headed with as much misguided sense of accountability as any Gryffindor. Instead he would take what he could get and if she wanted to play like they were still students, then so be it. "Alright, you've got that look, spill."

Lily smiled broadly. "Despite the fact I wouldn't mind Hermione as a daughter-in-law; Harry has found himself a powerful witch that can put him in his place just as well as Hermione can. Harry and Hermione also see each other as siblings."

He gave her a look that clearly said he didn't buy that excuse for a minute.

"It's true!" Lilly assured him, then, with a wicked grin relented. "Of course, the fact that her magic has already bound her to someone else doesn't help either."

Ahh, there it was, the tidbit of information that she was trying to hang over his head like a proverbial carrot. Snape grimaced as he thought of what she was saying could mean. "_Please_ tell me it's not the Weasley idiot."

Still grinning Lilly shook her head. Suddenly a bright silvery blue otter, someone's patronus likely, swirled around them.

"Dance with her…." The voice issuing from the otter was Ms. Granger's. The otter swirled as if swimming around to the other side of them as the message continued. "… While you still can. She has to return beyond the veil soon." The patronus winked out of existence, only then did the couple register the change in music to a slow love song.

"_Heart beats fast. Colors, and promises. How to brave? How can I love, when I'm afraid. to. fall? But watching you stand alone. All of my doubt, suddenly goes away somehow."_

"She's right you know." Lilly said. "I have been feeling the pull for a while now, I'll have to go soon."

Snape glanced to where Fred Weasley was lounging on top of the piano. "Mr. Weasley doesn't seem too perturbed with being on this plane," he noted.

"Fred is the only one comfortable crossing the veil for any length of time. The rest of us can barely abide, even for a little while, and rarely cross even when she opens a tear. We think it's because George is still here, they're identical twins so his literal other half is still here."

"Makes sense." He agreed.

"Well… are you going to dance with me or not?" Lilly demanded, with a hand on her hip and tossing her hair over her shoulder. Snape couldn't help but smile, she'd done the exact same thing during the Yule ball their 5th year. He pulled her closer to him and showed her that his newfound grace as an adult wasn't just relegated to potions and stalking corridors.

"_Time stands still. Beauty in all. she. is. I will be brave. I will not anything, take. away, what's standing in front of me. Every breath, every hour has come to this. One. step. closer. I have died everyday waiting for you. Darling don't be afraid, I have loved you… for a thousand years. I will love you for a thousand more."_

As they moved gracefully around their corner of the room his thoughts were oddly drawn back to the mystery of the witch at the piano. "Who is she bound to?" He asked.

Lilly just beamed that 'I know something you don't know' smile at him. "That's not for me to say. I promised not to say anything. Though, I will tell you that she has no intent of _ever_ telling him."

Severus scowled. "Why not?"

"She says that he hates her and her magic had attached itself to him by accident, that it was a tense moment, and he saved her life, in response her magic sought him and decided that it would accept no other."

Snape scoffed. "It's not that simple, it's a very strong and ancient magic. It might have been brought about my extreme emotional circumstances, but it never would have been able to form if there wasn't the potential for a soul bond, and that is really rare." Lilly nodded. After a moment's thought he asked, "Are both their magic's bound?"

Lilly shook her head. "No, she is the only one currently bound, and no, he doesn't know." She said correctly deducing his next question.

"Well she's doing them both an injustice if she doesn't confront him. They have a chance to have something special and rare, something pure." He growled. The nerve of the witch, a potential for a soul bond, a perfect compatibility, and she wasn't even going to tell the bloke!

Lily's hard laughter broke his internal rant. "A Slytherin and a Gryffindor, now that's what I call interhouse unity!" She laughed even harder at his shocked expression and mouthed 'Draco'. Her laughter quickly died though, replaced by a look of pain and illness.

Snape pulled her back to him in a rush of worry. "Lily are you alright?"

Lily shook her head. "I'm sorry Sev, I've overstayed. It's been great, I've missed you. And please, stop this cycle of self punishment, for me if not for you. You've done nothing wrong; I forgive anything you think you may have done a thousand times over. I hope one day you can forgive me."

Severus pulled her into a tight embrace. "There's nothing to forgive. I love you Lilly," he whispered.

Lily pulled back and started to fade. "Be Happy Severus, find love again. There's a woman for you, you just have to be brave enough to act on it." With those last words she faded completely in a wisp of odorless smoke.

Snape looked around the ball room just as the last notes of the song were being played. Everyone seemed to have a dancing, ghostly image of a couple next to them. Sometimes it was their current partner, other times not. It almost looked as if the ghostly dancers were who each were wishing they were dancing with. A ghostly image next to him showed himself dancing with Lily. As the images faded, his gaze was drawn to the stage and the wistful looking young witch staring at the ivory keys. Next to her an image faded away but not before Snape got a look at whose arms her dream self was enfolded in. For once he was glad Ms. Granger's Gryffindor courage failed her, because he didn't think he'd ever be willing to confront the reality that image. For, the Slytherin that had held her in his arms was _**not**_Draco Malfoy.

**A/N: Songs Hermione played: "Kiss by a rose" by Seal, "Lucy" by Skillet (the video is heartbreaking!), "Just the way you are" by Bruno Mars and "A Thousand Years" By Christina Perri**


End file.
